Police arrest man who drove car into pond

The driver of a car that landed in a local pond in January was arrested on a warrant March 22.

Police arrested Jerry Rollins, 33, of West Haven and charged him with criminal mischief, trespassing and possession of narcotics with the intent to sell.

Rollins is accused of driving his vehicle off the road and into a pond located behind a house on Tomahawk Lane on Jan. 15. Rollins was able to get out of the car and get to a nearby home looking for help. The homeowners were not there and Rollins broke into the home through a rear window and called someone to help him, and then he left the scene before police and firefighter arrived, police said.

Firefighters, along with the department’s dive team, were at the scene that day in January to investigate the finding of the fully submerged passenger vehicle in the icy pond.

The dive team entered the water to search the car and found nothing inside, and then a heavy duty wrecker arrived and pulled the car onto dry land. The fire department divers then went into the water again as a precaution to search for any potential victims. None were found.

At the time, police said the car, a 2009 red Honda Accord, had been stolen out of West Haven.

Rollins was released from police custody on his promise to appear in court April 18.